Oxygen is the most critical element needed for the human body and yet most people are stuck in a pattern of shallow breathing from anxiety and stress. Although oxygen makes up more than 65% of the human body, it is unfamiliar to think that utilizing the breath could help our physical and emotional well-being. The breath is the ultimate connection to our reality and nature; animating our bodies through the oxygen provided by plants. This deep carbon cycle connection with plants is symbolic of the beautiful cycle of giving and receiving energy; the transmutation of oxygen lifeforce energy for humans, to the exhale of carbon dioxide which supplies the plant’s lifeforce energy, is rooted to the very center of our Spirit. Investigating the human body’s interaction with oxygen will give more insight into the criticality and mechanism of action of oxygen.
The Effects and Causes of Low Oxygen on the Human Body
Low amounts of oxygen can be very detrimental to the body. Children that experience a mild to severe lack of oxygen at birth were studied for five years, uncovering subtle learning deficiencies such as autism, ADHD, and decreased processing speed. Anywhere from 4 to 23 percent of children can experience a lack of oxygen at birth due to a multitude of reasons such as not enough oxygen in the mother’s blood or if the baby has a blocked airway. Lack of oxygen is been strongly linked to cellular damage which is a double whammy because damaged cells will release toxic materials when oxygen is restored. When the mind is in a state of fear, anxiety, or perceived threat, it will produce a sympathetic (fight-or-flight) reflex causing us to hold our breath in anticipation to the situation. However, many, everyday activities performed nowadays can cause stressful states. Watching a violent movie, driving a car, rushing to an appointment, and even being near electrical devices can cause the body to react sympathetically.
This type of continuous holding of the breath is known as shallow breathing and most of the population experiences this on a daily basis. This type of breathing has been linked to the depletion of the body’s resources, inefficient operation and an extended, rougher healing state. Imagine the detriment of prolonged stress such as depression! The emotional causes to this are just as important, if not more so. Someone that is rushing to an appointment does not necessarily have to engage in shallow breathing if they have trained themselves to be able to unconsciously take deep breaths that stretch the diaphragm while remaining in a positive mental state. This is very important, a relaxed state of mind compared to mind that is experiencing positive feelings actually have different heart rate wavelengths. The HeartMath Institute has been studying the effects of emotions and noticed how diaphragmatic breathing coupled with positivity can create a state of psychophysiological coherence. SImply put, this institute has noticed increased order and harmony in both physiological and psychological function when there is a smooth, sine wavelength pattern in the heart rate variability trace.
HeartMath, Coherence, and the Intelligent Heart
The body is meant to work together as you can see above. Blood pressure, respiration, and heart rate variability can all unify to become cohesive, working more efficiently. The secret is in the emotional state. Positive emotions such as appreciation, joy, care, and love create smooth harmonious wave rhythms in the body which allows the body to synchronize and work better. The graph below depicts two examples of heart rate variability patterns from one individual experiencing a negative emotion, while the other shows a positive emotion.
It is amazing to note that these graphs depict the same amount of heart rate variability but the patterns are what differs between them. The HeartMath Institute’s research shows that coherence is achieved through the active engagement of positive emotions; psychologically we are supposed to feel a calm, balanced, yet a refreshingly vigor and responsive state that is well coordinated with a performance of tasks such as focus and decision-making. Breathing affects the heart patterns so creating a smooth and coherent breath pattern can help the heart and brain waves become coherent. However, breathing alone will not create coherence; the pairing of the breath and the emotional shift to positive feelings help maintain coherence naturally, allowing our body’s rhythms to be coherent without being conscious of it. Yep, the amazing reality is that partial control of the unconscious is through the emotions, thought patterns, and breathing.
The heart is key in this. The electrical field of the heart is nearly 60 times greater than the brain. Researchers speculate that the magnetic field contains “...information or coding… that is transmitted throughout and outside the body.” Constantly interacting with our bodies, brains, and each other, we can see how we affect each other through our emotional-magnetic fields. Reiki, chi gong, yoga, or other energetic/healing methods are based in the belief that there is an exchange of energy to facilitate healing. This discovery of the cardioelectromagnetic field leads to one of the first successful measurements of the energy/fields being exchanged between people. With an understanding that the heart responds to energy, we can realize how we co-create each other’s realities; literally helping each other forming emotional experiences though our relationships, dialogues, interactions, and thoughts. These emotional experiences will actually affect the health of everyone involved, including being able to profoundly impact the perception and cognitive function of each other within these experiences.
Increasing coherence, oxygen, and positivity
Techniques recommended by HeartMath include a deep breathing exercise while focusing attention to the heart area. Breathing in comfortably for 5 seconds followed by a 5 second exhale while imagining your breath (lifeforce) is coming from the heart. Breathing in, imagine the lifeforce heading into your heart, and imagine it coming out of the heart on the exhale. Even a few minutes of this a day during stressful situations can be a huge shift. Exhibiting positivity is important, and there are many ways to increase positivity. Friends and family is huge, activities that you enjoy, and having novel experiences is essential. Yoga is an amazing way to start to dedicate a half hour to a hour to focus on your breath and emotions and feel good doing so. Praying and meditation with positive thinking can be monumental in shifting your emotions. HeartMath also offers personal machines to keep track of your heart coherence and improve it as well. Healthy habits, healthy eating, and healthy environments are critical to learning to sustain positive thoughts and emotions. Most importantly, always remember the amazing capabilities to help heal yourself and others through your thoughts, actions, and emotional state. Let love and compassion flow.
Sources
https://www.heartmath.org/programs/emwave-self-regulation-technology-theoretical-basis/
https://www.heartmath.org/articles-of-the-heart/science-of-the-heart/the-energetic-heart-is-unfolding/
https://www.heartmath.org/articles-of-the-heart/the-math-of-heartmath/heart-focused-breathing/
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/hby/hby10.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3139518/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5107920/
https://www.cohenjaffe.com/blog/2014/03/even-mild-lack-oxygen-birth-can-serious-long-term-effects/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/5901075/Why-do-so-few-of-us-know-how-to-breathe-properly.html
Legal Jumbo
This is not medical advice or a “cure”, just a simple informational and educational article to help. Ask your doctor or health practitioner if breathing is recommended for you. Namaste.